My mama told me to sit down
That I would get hurt if I stood up on the bus
It was awfully full on that bus
Some people sittin
Some people standin
Everybody sweatin

My momma, she be drippin so bad it look like she just got out of the pool
Just when the bus seem like it gonna explode
A few men squeeze on
But there ain’t no room

I ask my momma how we gonna fit all them
She puts me up on her lap and says,
“Shush up, child. Not long til we’re home.”

The men pass by us
Sweat stained shirts and tired eyes
They tip their hats to my momma and one winks at me
Hard working men headed home
Men like my papa

I watch them pass other seats
They are all full
They pass other children
Mamas and Papas
Aunts and Uncles

The men could stand
But they be tired
So tired
And hot

Then one of them fine men stops.
The one who winked at me
But the seat is full
The bus is full

He looks down and mumbles something
Sweat drips from his nose
It lands on the old leather seat
I can’t hear him on this bus
He speaks to an old lady
A grandma
A negro

She looks up at him
He stares back at her
Then she meets my eyes
For just a second
She looks so tired
She been workin all day long
She been kicked out too many times
And she don’t wanna get up
But everybody else wants her out

She smiles at me
I try to smile back
And then they take her away.

My mama says she was out lookin for trouble
My mama says she had no right
I think my mama’s wrong.